Happy spring with 3 Custom Color Light Brights

Holy moly, it was a gorg Friday in London. Sunny, warm... it's spring! At least for a minute. To celebrate, here's something bright and happy to think about:

Light Brights from the fab 3 Custom Color. Klub kids in East London, eat your heart out!

The Balm: The new Benefit?

There're a slew of new retro cosmetics on the rise right now. We came across The Balm a few years ago when it first launched in the US and slowly it's blossomed into a minxy makeup line. It's growing presence in the US beauty market means the range has got to hit UK shores soon. It's not an exhaustive line yet, which is a good thing (more of a capsule collection, really, fitting neatly on an end display) and the products have the requisite (yet slightly more off-kilter) witty names (TimeBalm and Stainiac) of brands of this ilk. The Balm is definitely a first cousin of the the cheeky, kitschy Too Faced, Benefit, Jelly Pong Pong and DuWop.

The small size and independence of the brand makes me like it just that bit more. And their obession with pugs (and token lovely Lab) makes it that much more warm and fuzzy all over. Not many other beauty brands are tongue-in-cheek enough to put the mugs of ugly-cute pugs all over their website. Not even the ones that say they are. Most are just saucy and kitsch with a dash of sex but nothing as oddball as a love of wrinkly pups. How cool. Just look at Wheezie's Picks and you'll know what I mean. Plus, they do as they say, dedicating all proceeds from their vegan lip treatment to the flat-faced little cuties in the Pug Rescue. Check it all out. Oh yeah... and the products aren't half bad. Try the BalmShelter (with SPF17).

UK cult products in the US: Daniel Sandler

The UK's creating a bit of a stir in world of beauty as well as fashion nowadays. With everyone from top facialists like Vaishaly Patel to hair experts Andrew Barton and James Brown creating eponymous lines, it was only a matter of time before the demand overseas for British beauty goods started to grow in earnest (let's be honest. US Vogue's always had a bit of a crush on all things British anyway).

So it's with bated breath that Americans await the arrival of Daniel Sandler's makeup range in the US this spring. From his award-winning Watercolour Blushes (think Benetint in 12 different shades) to other great fixes like Perfect Canvas, Wash of Colour, Hide It and a range of brushes, it's a robust professional-grade line for at-home use.

With a client list that includes the likes of Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell, beauty lovers stateside should look forward to snapping up these English imports as soon as they hit American shores.